Have you ever chosen a greeting card off the shelf and thought ‘I can do that’? Well, the time for you to act is now. The greeting card industry is a multi billion dollar industry with opportunities in both freelance work as well as employment.
With the use of modern technology, many artists have already begun to produce their own high quality cards and are selling them on etsy and in craft fairs. Well, why not take your creative skills one step further and seek to license your art.
Working with a publisher to make thousands of copies of your design for sale across the nation is a great way of not only earning more cash, but as a launching pad for other creative endeavors. For instance, some greeting card publishers put a bio of the artist on the back of each card. What great publicity for your art! Include your website address and direct new potential customers to your wares. Better yet, once published, greeting cards make an excellent calling card to hand out as publicity materials.
Greeting Card Publishers
Your first step is to define your objective – do you want to freelance or do you want to work in house? Do you want to sell through a company or do you want to distribute via the internet?
Submissions
Smaller companies such as Papyrus and Recycled Cards actively seek new ideas and encourage submissions. Some top submission tips are:
1. Christmas in July – Companies work months, sometimes years in advance of the target season. If it’s already Christmas and you’re sending Christmas card sample, it’s already too late. Work outside the season.
2. Remember Your Name - Always clearly label each submission with your name, website, and contact details. A company may love your design and want to give you an exclusive contract, but if they can’t find you, you’ll still be eating pizza out of a box rather than celebrating with champagne.
3. Do Not Send – originals. Send the best quality you can, just not the originals. Inevitably, they will be lost. Also, refrain from sending slides, low resolution photos, faxes, or enormous electronic files that will clog up an art director’s email box and be incredibly slow to download.
4. Select Your Best Work - Make sure your images are high resolution, are in focus, and the color quality represents the colors of your artwork. Take the best photo possible. Ask a photographer friend to take your photos. If you don’t know any, make more friends. If you’re just starting out, but you look professional, they’ll never know. Usually, don’t send more than 12 samples.
5. Target Your Market – Do your research. This is a good excuse to surf the internet or go card shopping. Find a company that suits your style and send them representative artwork. Don’t send sports car technical drawings to a company that specializes in cutsey children’s cards. Don’t send 3D hand crafted cards to a card that does not make 3D cards.
6. Have You Made a Sale Already? – If you’ve already sold some of your cards, include how many and via what distribution channel. If people are already paying for your work, card companies will be more interested because you’re a safer bet.
7. Prices – Usually there’s no need for you to send estimated retail prices of your cards. Card companies should have much more experience in this area.
8. Protect Yourself – Write on the back of each submission a © with your name, the year, and your contact details. If you are very worried about your images, use a watermark.
9. Follow Up – If you don’t hear back from a company within a reasonable amount of time (4-8 weeks), drop them a short email to remind them of you work.
10. It’s Not Shakespeare - Always Read Your Contract. I will repeat. Always read your contract. Yes, it might be boring, but you want to make sure that you are only selling the rights (type of product, territory or period, etc.) you want to sell. Make sure you understand all terms before you sign.
Working In House
In the likes of the larger companies, such as Hallmark and American Greetings, it is often easier to find employment in their creative department rather than freelance work because they use their in-house team to design their products. Even if your first job with them isn’t as an artist, what a great experience to learn the entire card making process from idea to shelf. Working in house will help you to understand the business first hand and with that knowledge, you’ll be bounds ahead if you ever want to set up your own business.
Selling Your Own Cards
With the rise of the internet, this is so much easier to do. You could try Café Press or Etsy. There’s also craft fairs and local shops. Invest in a good printer. Start practicing writing short greetings. Create the unusual.
Have you ever dreamed of creating a Hallmark card?
Or want to be on the Papyrus team?
Want to learn more about the top 50 greeting card companies?
Read Extremely Crafty’s “How to Sell Greeting Cards 101”
Please Note...
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Want to Earn Money Doing Something You Love?
London Crafting
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